2003 in the United States: Wikis

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2003 in the United States
Centuries:	20th century – 21st century – 22nd century
Decades:	1980s 1990s – 2000s – 2010s 2020s
Years:	2000 2001 2002 – 2003 – 2004 2005 2006
Flag:	50 stars (1960 – present)

Events from the year 2003 in the United States.

1 Political incumbents
2 Events
3 Deaths
4 References
5 External links

Political incumbents

Events

January

January - Sky marshals introduced on US airlines in an attempt to prevent hijackings.^[1]
January 3 – The 108th United States Congress is sworn in, including incoming freshmen Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Sununu (R-NH), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Norm Coleman (R-MN), and Mark Pryor (D-AR).
January 3 – The Ohio State University defeats the University of Miami in double-overtime in the Fiesta Bowl, 31–24, for the national Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title.
January 8 – US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people aboard.
January 15 – Eldred v. Ashcroft: The Supreme Court of the United States allows the extension of copyright terms in the U.S.
January 16 – STS-107: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on what turns out to be its last flight.
January 23 – The last signal is received from NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft, some 7.5 billion miles from Earth.
January 24 – The new United States Department of Homeland Security begins operation.
January 25 – An international group of volunteers leaves London for Baghdad to act as voluntary human shields, hoping to avert a U.S. invasion.
January 26 – Super Bowl XXXVII: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Oakland Raiders 48–21.
January 30 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain release a statement (The Letter of the Eight) demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade Iraq.

February

February 1: Space Shuttle Columbia is destroyed on re-entry

February 1 – STS-107: Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon re-entry, killing all 7 astronauts onboard.^[1]
February 5 – Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq.
February 7 – An unsuccessful attempt is made to contact Pioneer 10.
February 20 – The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island claims the lives of 100 people.

March

March 1 – The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
March 1 – The Turkish parliament vetoes U.S. troop access to airbases in Turkey in order to attack Iraq from the north. The Bush administration starts working on Plan B, namely attacking Iraq from the south, through the Persian Gulf.
March 5 – Lockyer v. Andrade, Ewing v. California: In two separate opinions, the Supreme Court of the United States, by 5–4 margins, upholds California's "three strikes and you're out" law.
March 11 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi fighters threaten two U.S. U-2 surveillance planes, on missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base.
March 16 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Spain meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17 the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by force.
March 17 – Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush gives an ultimatum: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons must either leave Iraq, or face military action at a time of the U.S.'s choosing.
March 18 – FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama, on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
March 18 – About $1 billion is taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States begins bombing Iraq.^[2]
March 19 – The first American bombs drop on Baghdad after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with U.S. President George W. Bush's 48-hour mandate demanding their exit from Iraq.
March 20 - The US-led Iraq War begins.^[1]
March 22 – The United States and the United Kingdom begin their shock and awe campaign, with a massive air strike on military targets in Baghdad.
March 23 – Hasan Akbar, a Muslim soldier with the 101st Airborne, kills two fellow soldiers in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
March 23 – The 75th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Steve Martin, is held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Chicago wins Best Picture.
March 30 – Meigs Field Airport in Chicago, Illinois, is demolished overnight.

April

April 3 – U.S. forces seize control of Saddam International Airport, changing the airport's name to Baghdad International Airport.
April 3–April 12 - Iraq War: US forces defeat the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Battle of Baghdad.
April 9 – U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
April 13 – Iraq War: Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit falls to US forces.
April 13 – President George W. Bush accuses Syria of possessing chemical weapons.^[1]
April 21 – Retired U.S. Army General Jay Garner becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq.
April 29 - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confirms that US troops will be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia where they have been stationed since the 1991 Gulf War.^[1]

May

May 1 – U. S. president George W. Bush lands on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where he gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.^[1] A banner behind him declares "Mission Accomplished."
May 3 – The Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation in New Hampshire, crumbles after heavy rain.
May 4 – Top Thrill Dragster opens in Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio as the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster.
May 4–10 – A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.
May 23 – Dewey, the first deer cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University, is born.
May 25 – After docking in Miami at 05:00, the SS Norway (old SS France) is severely damaged by a boiler explosion at 06:30, that kills seven, and injures 17 crew members. A few weeks later it is announced by Norwegian Cruise Line that she will never sail again as a commercial ocean liner.
May 28 - President Bush authorizes $350 billion worth of tax cuts over 10 years.^[1]
May 31 – Eric Rudolph, suspected in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.

June

June 4 – Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
June 22 – The largest hailstone ever recorded falls in Aurora, Nebraska.
June 23 – Grutter v. Bollinger: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds affirmative action in university admissions.
June 26 - A senior Department of State chemical and biological weapons expert testifies to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee that he was pressured to modify intelligence reports about Iraq.^[1]
June 26 – Lawrence v. Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court declares sodomy laws unconstitutional.
June 29 – A balcony collapse in Chicago kills 13.
June 30 – In Irvine, California, Joseph Hunter Parker kills two Albertsons employees with a sword, before being shot to death by the police.

July

July 14 – CIA leak scandal: Washington Post columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame, blowing her cover as a CIA operative.
July 22 – Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of Saddam Hussein, are killed by the U.S. military in Iraq, after being tipped off by an informant.
July 26 – The electorate of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma approves a new constitution redesignating the tribe "Cherokee Nation" without "of Oklahoma" and specifically disenfranchising the Cherokee Freedmen.

August

August 14 – A widespread power outage affects the northeastern United States and South-Central Canada.
August 25 – The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, during Delta II.

September

September 7 - President Bush announces a request for $87 billion from Congress for military operations in Afganistan and Iraq.^[1]
September 17 - President Bush concedes there is no evidence linking Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[1]
September 18 – Hurricane Isabel makes landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks. It directly kills 16 people in the Mid–Atlantic area.

October

October 7 – 2003 California recall: Voters recall Governor Gray Davis from office and elect actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
October 10 – Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will seek treatment.
October 15 – The 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash kills 11 after one of its ferries slams into a pier.
October 25 – The Florida Marlins defeat the New York Yankees to win their second World Series title.
October 25 – The Cedar Fire begins in San Diego County, burning 280,000 acres (1,100 km²), 2,232 homes and killing 14.

November

November 18 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, rules anti-same-sex marriage laws unconstitutional in Massachusetts.
November 18 – U.S. President George W. Bush makes a state visit to London in the midst of massive protests.
November 20 – Iraq War: End of Operation Iron Hammer, an attempt to end the Iraq insurgency.^[1]

December

December 1 – Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit resigns unexpectedly. He is replaced by Lewis Platt as non-executive chairman and Harry Stonecipher as president and CEO.
December 13 – Iraq War: End of Operation Red Dawn resulting in the capture of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit.^[1]
December 22 – An earthquake in California kills two.
December 24 – At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the French Government orders Air France to cancel several flights between France and the U.S. in response to terrorist concerns.
December 24 – A BSE (mad cow disease) outbreak in Washington State is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia and Taiwan ban the import of beef from the United States.

Unknown dates

US Census Bureau announces that with 37 million, Hispanics constitute the largest minority in the USA (compared with 36 million African Americans).

Deaths

January 3 - Sid Gillman, football coach (born 1911)
January 11 - Richard Simmons, actor (born 1913)
January 12 - Dean Amadon, ornithologist (born 1912)
January 15 - Doris Fisher, singer-songwriter (born 1915)
January 17 - Richard Crenna, actor (born 1926)
January 20 - Al Hirschfeld, cartoonist (born 1903)
January 23 - Nell Carter, singer and actress (born 1948)
January 29 - Frank Moss, politician (born 1911)
February 1 - crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107:

Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (born 1959)

David M. Brown, astronaut (born 1956)

Kalpana Chawla, astronaut (born 1961)

Laurel Clark, astronaut (born 1961)

Rick Husband, astronaut (born 1957)

William McCool, astronaut (born 1961)

February 2 - Lou Harrison, composer (born 1917)
February 10
- Edgar de Evia, photographer (born 1910)
- Ron Ziegler, president Richard Nixon's White House Press Secretary (born 1939)
- "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, professional wrestler (born 1959)
February 16 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley (born 1907)
February 19 - Johnny PayCheck, singer (born 1938)
February 20 - Orville Freeman, politician (born 1918)
February 27 - Fred Rogers, children's television host (born 1928)
March 2 - Hank Ballard, musician (born 1927)
March 12 - Lynne Thigpen, actress (born 1948)
March 22 - Milton G. Henschel, Jehovah's Witnesses leader (born 1920)
March 26 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, politician (born 1926)
April 17
- Robert Atkins, nutritionist (born 1930)
- Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (born 1932)
- Earl King, musician (born 1934)
April 20 - Ruth Hale, playwright and actress (born 1908)
April 21 - Nina Simone, singer (born 1933)
April 26 - Peter Stone, writer (born 1930)
May 1 - Elizabeth Hulette, wrestling manager and valet (born 1960)
May 3 - Suzy Parker, actress (born 1932)
May 9 - Russell B. Long, politician (born 1918)
May 14 - Robert Stack, actor (born 1919)
May 15 - June Carter Cash, singer (born 1929)
May 26 - Kathleen Winsor, writer (born 1919)
May 28 - Martha Scott, actress (born 1912)
June 2
- Burke Marshall, lawyer and politician (born 1922)
- "Classy" Freddy Blassie, professional wrestler and manager (born 1918)
June 6 - Ken Grimwood, writer (born 1944)
June 10 - Donald Regan, Treasury Secretary (born 1918)
June 11 - David Brinkley, television reporter (born 1920)
June 12 - Gregory Peck, actor (born 1916)
June 14 - Jimmy Knepper, musician (born 1927)
June 18 - Larry Doby, baseball player (born 1923)
June 21 - Leon Uris, writer (born 1924)
June 23 - Maynard Jackson, mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (born 1938)
June 25 - Lester Maddox, politician (born 1915)
June 26 - Strom Thurmond, politician (born 1902)
June 29 - Katharine Hepburn, actress (born 1907)
June 30 - Buddy Hackett, comedian and actor (born 1924)
July 1 - Herbie Mann, jazz flutist (born 1930)
July 4 - Barry White, singer (born 1944)
July 7 - Buddy Ebsen, actor (born 1908)
July 12 - Benny Carter, musician (born 1907)
July 15 - Tex Schramm, football team president and general manager (born 1920)
July 16 - Carol Shields, American-born writer (born 1935)
July 17 - Rosalyn Tureck, pianist and harpsichordist (born 1914)
July 30 - Sam Phillips, record producer (born 1923)
August 4 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, pediatrician and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916)
August 9 - Gregory Hines, dancer and actor (born 1946)
August 23 - Bobby Bonds, baseball player (born 1946)
August 28 - Brian Douglas Wells, criminal (born 1956)
August 30 - Charles Bronson, actor (born 1921)
September 1 - John Gould, humorist, essayist, and columnist (born 1908)
September 6 - Harry Goz, actor (born 1932)
September 7 - Warren Zevon, singer (born 1947)
September 9 - Larry Hovis, actor (born 1936)
September 11 - John Ritter, actor (born 1948)
September 12 - Johnny Cash, singer and guitarist (born 1932)
September 13 - Frank O'Bannon, politician (born 1930)
September 14 - John Serry, Sr., musician (born 1915)
September 17 - Sheb Wooley, actor and singer (born 1921)
September 22 - Gordon Jump, actor (born 1932)
September 25 - George Plimpton, writer and actor (born 1927)
September 27 - Donald O'Connor, actor, singer, and dancer (born 1925)
September 28 - Althea Gibson, tennis player (born 1927)
October 3
- William Steig, cartoonist (born 1907)
- Timothy Treadwell, Environmentalist
October 5 - Neil Postman, educator, media theorist, and cultural critic (born 1931)
October 7 - Ellen Cannon Reed, witch and author (born 1943)
October 10 - Eugene Istomin, pianist (born 1925)
October 12 - Willie Shoemaker, jockey (born 1931)
October 20 - Jack Elam, actor (born 1918)
October 21
- Fred Berry, actor (born 1951)
- Elliott Smith, musician (born 1969)
October 22 - Tony Renna, race car driver (born 1976)
October 25 - Robert Strassburg, composer (born 1915)
October 29 - Hal Clement, writer (born 1922)
October 31 - Richard Neustadt, political historian (born 1919)
November 3 - Spider Jorgensen, baseball player and coach (born 1919)
November 5
- Bobby Hatfield, singer (The Righteous Brothers) (born 1940)
- Dorothy Fay, actress (born 1915)
November 9 - Art Carney, actor (born 1918)
November 10 - Irv Kupcinet, columnist and television personality (murdered) (born 1912)
November 12
- Jonathan Brandis, actor (suicide) (born 1976)
- Penny Singleton, actress (born 1908)
November 13 - Kellie Waymire, actress (born 1967)
November 14 - Gene Anthony Ray, actor (born 1962)
November 15 - Dorothy Loudon, actress (born 1933)
November 18 - Michael Kamen, composer (born 1948)
November 20 - Jim Siedow, actor (born 1920)
November 26 - Soulja Slim, rapper (born 1977)
November 30 - Gertrude Ederle, swimmer (born 1906)
December 4 - Iggy Katona, race car driver (born 1916)
December 7
- Carl F. H. Henry, theologian and publisher (born 1913)
- Azie Taylor Morton, U.S. Treasurer (born 1936)
December 9 - Paul Simon, U.S. Senator from Illinois (born 1928)
December 13 - William Roth, U.S. Senator from Delaware (born 1921)
December 14 - Jeanne Crain, actress (born 1925)
December 15 - George Fisher, political cartoonist (born 1923)
December 16 - Gary Stewart, singer (suicide) (born 1945)
December 17 - Otto Graham, football player (born 1921)
December 19 - Hope Lange, actress (born 1933)
December 22 - Dave Dudley, singer (born 1928)
December 29 - Earl Hindman, actor (born 1942)
December 30 - John Gregory Dunne, writer (born 1932)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 653–656. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
^ CNN.com – U.S.: $1 billion taken by Saddam – May. 6, 2003

External links

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Categories: 2003 in the United States | 2003 by country

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